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Defiant class (Vanguard)
Warp 9.9 |armament = Phasers: 3 Type-XII phaser arrays 4 Type-XII pulse phaser cannons Torpedo launchers: 6 torpedo launchers Torpedo payload: 90 quantum torpedoes |caption2 = Top view of the Defiant class Tactical Frigate|caption = Side view of the Defiant class Tactical Frigate|affiliation = |status = Active|yard = Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards|launched = 2369|length = 170.68 meters|beam = 134.11 meters|draft = 30.1 meters|class = Defiant|comm = 2370}} The Defiant''-class''' was a type of Federation starship in use in the 24th century, the first Starfleet vessel created purely for warfare. History The Defiant-class was one of many new Starfleet classes developed in response to the Borg threat following Starfleet's tragic losses in the Battle of Wolf 359. The starship was developed at the Antares Fleet Yards and was the first vessel Starfleet ever developed purely as a warship. However, the expected Borg invasion never materialised and the prototype spent much of its time in space dock due to design flaws. Rising hostilities with the Dominion threw the USS Defiant into active service and it was assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2371. Numerous adjustments and upgrades were made to the starship, including being fitted with a Romulan Cloaking device, to defend the station from Dominion attack and conduct undercover operations in the Gamma Quadrant. The success of the USS Defiant gave new life to the class. Additional vessels were ordered, implementing the changes made to the class's namesake. As other Defiant-class starships left the shipyards they were placed in service defending Federation space and in combat in the Dominion War. Special features The ''Defiant–''class was originally designed as a more combat capable starship than the average Starfleet vessel. It is a small, highly-powered, heavily armored limited-role starship. It was specifically built to fight the Borg, but was later put to excellent use against the Dominion. The vessel featured limited equipment for scientific research and was not designed to accommodate families. The ship’s conn systems had been designed for maximum speed and efficiency of commands input by the operator, allowing it to be handled almost like a fighter when under the hands of a skilled pilot. Onboard tactical systems This class of ship was considered one of the most powerful in the Alpha Quadrant. Offensive capabilities Its four forward phaser cannon assemblies has a much higher combat yield compared to standard phasers. The standard phaser beam emitters aboard these vessels serve as secondary supplement to the primary phaser cannon assemblies. These arrays allow the ship to engage multiple targets simultaneously, protect against enemies to the rear, and to allow it to perform strafing runs, all which of which could not be accomplished by the forward-facing phaser cannons. These vessels has a total of six torpedo launchers. These torpedo launchers allow the ship to fire both quantum torpedoes and photon torpedoes. Defensive capabilities The shield systems of the Defiant-class tactical frigates are among the most powerful found on any Starfleet ship. It is outfitted with regenerative, multiphasic, and metaphasic shield systems, and secondary shields. The design allows the ship to have regenerative features and to increase effectiveness against both high energy tractor beams and phased anti-muon (polaron) particles, measures clearly aimed at the Borg and Dominion respectively. Under normal operation, the shield modulation frequencies are controlled by the ship's computer system, which continually evaluates incoming weapons fire and automatically re-modulates the shields to provide the most effective possible defense. It is thought that this system can also prevent beam-through by Borg transporter technology. The Defiant-class boasts of a hull that is made of overlapping and regenerative ablative hull armor that allows it to take many direct hits from enemy fire even with minimal shields. In addition, by 2380, the class has been equipped with two separate armor generators that can deploy a thick layer made of ablative armor plating along the contours of the entire ship when activated. This can be done through the numerous armor plating emitters that are installed at different points on the ship's hulls. This coating covers the ship's phaser mounts, but torpedo launchers are not affected by it. This triple redundancy feature of shields and armor on the Defiant-class allows it to effectively counter Borg and Dominion firepower. However, due to the huge energy needed to deploy both the shields and the generated armor coating at the same time, the '''''Defiant can only use these simultaneously for a maximum of one hour. As a result, the shields and the generated armor coating are used alternately when the ship is in battle. Command and senior staff Defiant-class tactical frigates that are attached to the task forces of the Vanguard Fleet and the starbases and stations of Vanguard Command have Commanding Officers who hold the rank of Commander, while First Officers hold the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The exceptions are the "primary Defiant-class" companion ships of the task force flagships attached to Vanguard Command and the Vanguard Fleet, which have commanding officers who hold the rank of Captain. Propulsion systems Warp drive The ship class is installed with a class-7 warp drive, which is extremely powerful for a ship its size. Its warp core spanned three decks in the aft section of the ship. Equipped with the enhanced warp drive of the Khronnians, Defiant-class tactical frigates assigned to Vanguard Command can now attain and sustain a maximum cruise speed of Warp 9.9. Impulse drive The impulse drive system of the Defiant-class is the most sophisticated model in production. Its oversized impulse engines are equipped with impulse thrusters that provide superb sub-light maneuvering speed, especially considering her size. With this design, along with the new retro-thrusters, and uprated structural integrity fields give the ship maneuverability equal to the size of a Valkyrie class tactical fighter. Computer systems Each Defiant-class tactical frigate attached to Vanguard Command is equipped with some of the most advanced computer systems of the time. The computer system on board is bio-neural based. Computer systems were concentrated in a computer core, which was accessible through a maintenance room. Each Defiant-class vessel carries one main computer core and one back up computer core. The main computer processor was capable of simultaneous access to 47 million data channels, of transluminal processing at 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond, and having operational temperature margins from 10° to 1790° Kelvin. The bio-neural circuitry speed up the computer's data functions and improved overall performance. Emergency holographic complement All Defiant-class tactical frigates attached to Vanguard Command are equipped with holo-emitters on every deck to allow emergency holographic programs a higher level of access and free movement around the ship. The ship’s computer systems can simultaneously bring online 1 Emergency Command and Conn Hologram (ECH), 1 Emergency Security and Tactical Hologram (ESTH), 1 Emergency Engineering Hologram (EEH), and 1 Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH). Accommodations Due to the militaristic nature of the Defiant-class tactical frigate, the interior design was the most spartan in Starfleet. Crew quarters had two pairs of stacking bunks fitted into the walls of each cabin. Each cabin was equipped with one replicator port, one bathroom, one dining bar for two, and one standard computer terminal. Only the ship's commanding officer was given his own room on deck 1, which doubled as an informal ready room. For recreation, one holosuite was installed on the ship for the crew in light of its long range missions in the Gamma Quadrant or Delta Quadrant escorting its lead ship. The only other place for informal gathering was the mess hall located on the port side of Deck 2. The mess hall was also compact and functional, which doubled as a makeshift meeting area. Science and medical facilities In its limited role as a reconnaissance starship, the Defiant-class tactical frigates that were made part of Vanguard Command were equipped with a very compact version of the Astrometrics Lab and a dedicated multi-purpose science lab for field testing and investigations. The main sickbay, contained one advanced biobed and two standard biobeds, this room served as the primary crew support facility during emergency situations. External Links Category:Vanguard Fleet starships